Gender Issues – Pakistan Gender Newshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org
Gender News From PakistanSat, 25 May 2019 08:27:54 +0000en-US
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.1Three men sentenced to death for raping girl in Sangharhttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/three-men-sentenced-to-death-for-raping-girl-in-sanghar/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/three-men-sentenced-to-death-for-raping-girl-in-sanghar/#respondSat, 25 May 2019 08:27:54 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87952Sanghar: The additional sessions judge of Khipro on Friday awarded death sentence to three accused and life imprisonment to one in a rape case.

The accused assaulted a student of class-IX. They made objectionable videos and pictures of the victim and uploaded them on some websites, including YouTube.

The rape case under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered in 2010 against seven accused, including three women, on the complaint of Dr Amin Bhayo, an uncle of the victim.

Initially four accused were arrested, but they were granted bail.

Judge Inayat Bhutto awarded death sentence to Danish Qaimkhani, Jahanzeb and Waseem Qaimkhani, while Suhail was handed down life imprisonment. Three women were exonerated.

The accused were present in the court when the verdict was announced.

Despite having reached a compromise with the victim’s relatives, the accused were convicted of their offence as the victim stood by her statement.

After the uploading of the video clips on the internet by the accused, a series of protest demonstrations were held by the relatives and citizens of Khipro town during which they demanded justice for the victim.

Dr Bhayo lodged the FIR about the gang rape and nominated three women and four men.

He stated that the victim was invited by girls for a get-together at their home where she was given sweets to eat. She fell unconscious after eating the sweets and after coming to her senses she realised that she had been raped.

He added that the accused Jahan­zaib and Danish could be identified from a video uploaded on YouTube.

It started when a social media user, Minahil Baloch, asked people to not support those accused of rape even if they make it to Cannes. It is pertinent to keep in mind that Sid’s short-film Rani has recently made it to Cannes. While no names were taken, Baloch later shared screenshots of her conversation with Kami in which the activist is claiming that Baloch defamed her.

“With a heavy heart, I’m writing this, that i am being threatened by trans model Kami Sid for making a post about something where I haven’t named anyone, while the community is marginalised itself, everyone should be held accountable for their actions regardless of their gender,” Baloch tweeted.

She further added, “My post has nothing to with her and her making it up to Cannes. It’s not the first time she is threatening anyone, I’m making this public and if anything happens to me i want everyone to know it’s Kami Sid.”

An activist, Shumaila Hussain Shahani backed Baloch’s story of Kami ‘threatening anyone who would talk about the suppressed 2015 rape case.’

“The transwoman who accused Kami and her boyfriend Sid of rape was 18 or 19 when she died few months ago (FIR of her murder nominates victim’s boyfriend for murder), and was 14 at the time of commission of the offense of rape. This news is PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE,” Shahani wrote on Facebook.

“The victim/survivor had complained of rape to her guru who had then confronted Kami and called in Bindiya for mediation/help in confronting Kami. Kami admitted to having paid compensation in the sums of 10 to 15k to the guru of the transwoman. Kami calls it kharcha, the guru of the victim/survivor calls it compensation for rape.”

Another activist, Mohammad Moiz, to whom the victim allegedly told her ordeal, shared:

“I am DONE being quiet. This is the Kami Sid rape case. The original post contains links to the other threads. As an assault survivor myself, I am done being quiet. We have to look inwards in our own small circles and fix them. Otherwise we are just complicit,” he wrote in a post.

“There are still those who facilitated this entire continued abuse, and still patron Kami for their own social capital. You know who you are. Shame on you, and may you rot in hell for being complicit in the continued abuse of a minor under your watch.”

Hussain later shared screenshots from an email in which he detailed the incident.

Aiman Rizvi shared a similar story.

“A few months ago I posted on twitter questioning why KLF was screening a film made by someone who had rape allegations against them. In the days that followed, model and activist Kami harassed close friends to get info on me – finally got my number and shouted at me relentlessly,” she penned. “She threatened me, gaslighted me and hurled accusations at the feminist collective I am a member of as she also went on to threaten other members of that group, Qurrat Mirza and Shumaila Hussain Shahani.”

She continued, “As I calmly explained to her that I was only asking questions about allegations that were public knowledge, was not making allegations of my own and therefore there wasn’t much she could do even if she tried taking me to court – she told me that my questions would result in her death.”

Kami, on the other hand has denied all allegations. Talking to The Express Tribune, the activist shared, “These are very serious accusations and I’m not giving out any statements regarding the allegations without consulting my lawyer.”

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/social-media-ablaze-with-rape-allegations-against-trans-activist-kami-sid/feed/0Killers of Farishta to be brought to justice: Firdoushttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/killers-of-farishta-to-be-brought-to-justice-firdous/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/killers-of-farishta-to-be-brought-to-justice-firdous/#respondFri, 24 May 2019 08:16:23 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87941Islamabad – Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday said that the culprits involved in the murder of girl Farishta would be brought to justice and black sheep in the police department would be dealt with for their negligence in the case.

She was talking to media during her visit to the house of Farishta – the 10 year old girl who was murdered few days back.

She said that reforms would be initiated to improve the police and justice system according to demands of the present times and to better tackle such incidents in future.

She said that she came to assure the victim family of support of the government, adding, Prime Minister Imran Khan was striving to bring reforms in the paralysed system.

She said that Farishta was the daughter of the nation and the injustice and cruelty done to her was evidence of the challenges faced by the society. Firdous said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was making efforts to reform institutions and change thinking of persons in these institutions regarding social issues.

“The unfortunate incident is a matter of concern and it identified that our traditions have fallen apart, our challenges have increased and our relation with the religion has weakened. Our sisters and daughters are falling victims to the deteriorating values in society.” She said that the government and the Prime Minister shared grief of the family and “we think that in order to stop such incidents, the existing gaps in laws needed to be removed.”

The weaknesses in implementation of present laws needed to be identified, she stated.

Dr Firdous said that the Prime Minister had taken immediate action on the incident and made decisions which were to be taken at the Inspector General of police and lower level. The gaps in registration of FIR, postmortem, investigation and recovery of the child pointed to the weak system, she said. “We need to strengthen the system and follow a strategy to implement the laws,” she added.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/killers-of-farishta-to-be-brought-to-justice-firdous/feed/0Three escape from court after bail recalled in abduction, rape casehttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/three-escape-from-court-after-bail-recalled-in-abduction-rape-case/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/three-escape-from-court-after-bail-recalled-in-abduction-rape-case/#respondFri, 24 May 2019 08:13:26 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87938Karachi: Three suspects, including two females, escaped from the court on Thursday after their interim pre-arrest bail was recalled in a case pertaining to alleged abduction and rape of a Christian girl, who is said to have converted to Islam.

The suspects have been booked in a case pertaining to alleged abduction of a 15-year-old girl and her rape within the remit of the Ittehad Town police station. The main suspect has been arrested.

The additional district and sessions’ judge (west), Mumtaz Ali Solangi, had granted interim pre-arrest bail to the suspects against a surety bond of Rs30,000 each on May 14.

On Thursday, the judge pronounced his verdict reserved on the applications seeking confirmation of the suspects’ bail before arrest after hearing arguments from both sides.

The judge dismissed their applications seeking confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail, which was also recalled.

The three suspects, who stayed outside the courtroom, easily escaped in the presence of the investigating officer, said the judicial staff and complainant’s lawyer.

Earlier, the judge wrote in his order that after hearing arguments from the parties and perusing the record it appeared that the applicants were nominated in the FIR with their specific role of kidnapping, abducting or inducing the complainant to compel her for marriage with the detained suspect.

“The record shows that the complainant is aged about 15/16 years and she is minor one,” the order said.

It further stated: “The complainant recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before the concerned magistrate in which she fully denied the acceptance of the religious Islam and execution of freewill and performing her Nikkah with the co-accused.”

The order further stated that “she deposed they forcibly obtained her signatures on plain papers and the co-accused committed Zinna with her”.

The defence counsel for the applicants argued that the FIR of the alleged incident was lodged with an inordinate delay of 15 days.

The judge said it was the settled law that the delay was common in our society in the cases of sexual offences, especially when the victim was an unmarried girl.

He noted it is admitted fact that the complainant was an unmarried girl of age 15/16 years and the suspects did not disclose any old enmity behind their implication in the present case.

The judge said the role of the applicants was disclosed by the complainant about her abduction and such offence was heinous offence.

In view of the above discussions, circumstances of the case and the case law, the court ruled that the applicant/accused persons were involved in prima facie case of abduction of the minor girl to compel her for marriage, which was a heinous offence and affecting the entire society.

Therefore, the judge ordered that the applications were not entitled to the confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail and recalled the same. Earlier, the defence counsel — Advocates Azhar Qadri and Amjad Iqbal Siddiqui — argued that the applicants were innocent and had not committed the alleged offence.

They argued that in fact the alleged abductee on her own freewill entered into the fold of Islam on April 29 and then solemnised marriage with Imran in the court of law.

The counsel argued that the Nikahnama and Sanad of Islam and affidavit of the freewill marriage had been retained by the police from the custody of the detained suspect Imran Baloch.

They said previously a real aunt of the complainant Sundus had also entered into the fold of the Islam and now she was residing with her husband Muhammad Rehan Baloch.

The counsel said that an FIR of the alleged incident was registered with an inordinate delay of 15 days, adding that the complainant mentioned the date of her alleged abduction as April 28 and her escape from the custody of the suspect as May 5 and reached her parents’ house, but lodged the FIR on May 13.

The counsel added that there was no report of the Medico-Legal Officer in respect of the Section 376 (rape of the victim) available on the record. They maintained that the alleged abductee Neha, now Fatima, and Imran were husband and wife.

The counsel alleged that now the complainant was in illegal detention of her parents, who were torturing and compelling her to convert back to Christianity. “Due to enmity of converting from Christianity to Islam and on her refusal, the family members of complainant mala fidely lodged this FIR,” defence counsel added.

It was argued that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the suspects had committed a non-bailable offence and the matter required further inquiry. Therefore, the court was pleaded to confirm the interim bail of the suspects.

Defence’s stance

The state prosecutor Iqbal Solangi contended that with the assessment of the complainant’s counsel Shahid Saeed Bhatti the applicants were not entitled for confirmation of interim bail on the grounds that they had committed the heinous offence of kidnapping/abducting for inducing the complainant to compel her for the marriage and the co-accused committed her rape.

The prosecutor further contended that complainant aged about 15 years and she was neither competent to contract marriage with the co-accused nor had she contracted her marriage, but the suspects forcibly obtained her signature on some blank papers by giving threats and maltreatment to Neha and her younger brother.

The prosecutor argued that the complainant had herself recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a judicial magistrate in which she fully implicated the suspects in the commission of kidnapping and Zina.

The prosecutor maintained that the delay in lodging of the FIR was common in our society in the cases of sexual offences especially when the victim was an unmarried girl. He added that the suspects compelled a minor girl by kidnapping her, thus there was no reason for their false implication in the case by the complainant.

Therefore, he contended that the applicants did not deserve the concession of confirmation of the bail and pleaded to dismiss the same.

A case was registered under Sections 365-B (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage etc), 376 (punishment for rape), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Ittehad Town police station on the complaint of the victim Neha.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/three-escape-from-court-after-bail-recalled-in-abduction-rape-case/feed/0Children should be educated to recognise sexual abuse at home, school: Mahirahttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/children-should-be-educated-to-recognise-sexual-abuse-at-home-school-mahira/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/children-should-be-educated-to-recognise-sexual-abuse-at-home-school-mahira/#respondFri, 24 May 2019 08:10:05 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87935Karachi- Mahira Khan has made an appeal to teachers and parents to give children proper education to protect themselves from sexual abuse .

The actor took part in a press conference today at Karachi Press Club along with Shehzad Roy, Zeba Bakhtiar and Younis Khan to talk on the tragic case of Farishta, a ten-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered.

“This is a tragic event, but such terrible incidents are happening all over our country. Children are suffering such incidents and we need to do what we can to prevent this,” said Mahira, going on to talk about the importance of educating children against inappropriate touch.

“We aren’t taught as children what is an inappropriate touch. Parents and teachers should teach their children about these things. Awareness of good touch and bad touch should begin at home and awareness about sexual abuse should be taught at home and school.”

Younis Khan emphasised the importance of having a conversation about these matters with children, as it will make them not only aware but will also allow them to speak up should they be uncomfortable in a setting.

“Please, when these things are not talked about in your homes, don’t hush your children up because you can’t even think what those children must be experiencing at the time,” said the actor.

She added: “This is something to give importance to. Whether it’s the police, the child protection unit or counselors, they should be involved in helping children be aware… We need child psychologists and therapists in our child protection units to help them.”

“This is the outcry we had a year ago when Zainab’s murder happened and now this incident has shaken us yet again,” said Shehzad Roy. “Why is sexual education not being properly taught after everything that has happened? Why isn’t our child protection unit working on making this happen?”

He added, “We need to understand that when such incidents happen, they start slowly. It starts with an inappropriate touch that a child doesn’t understand and is quiet about and it grows to the point that a life is lost. We don’t want it to get to that point, it can be stopped in the first go if a child knows what a bad touch is.”

According to Zeba Bakhtiar, “We all need to work together to make this change in our society happen. Education for children regarding all this is very important. Social media plays an important part in all this.”

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/children-should-be-educated-to-recognise-sexual-abuse-at-home-school-mahira/feed/0SHO among five arrested over Farishta’s rape, murderhttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/sho-among-five-arrested-over-farishtas-rape-murder/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/sho-among-five-arrested-over-farishtas-rape-murder/#respondThu, 23 May 2019 05:06:26 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87923Islamabad: The station house officer of Shehzad Town police, an investigation officer and three neighbours of the 10-year-old girl Farishta, who was raped, killed and then dumped in the bushes in the suburban Chak Shahzad, were arrested on Wednesday.

The arrests came amid an outcry from lawyers, politicians, celebrities and even from residents of her native Mohmand tribal district.

On Wednesday, a case against Shehzad Town SHO Rana Abbas had been registered.

According to the first information report (FIR), the girl’s family had visited the police station for the registration of a missing person’s report for the girl who had gone missing on May 15.

“The police station was paid numerous visits to get the FIR registered and to search for the missing girl. Instead of searching for her, the SHO remarked the victim must have eloped with the suspect,” states the FIR, which was registered in the presence of the girl’s father Gul Nabi.

The victim’s father had also pleaded the authorities to take action against the responsible policemen and SHO for criminal negligence.

After the FIR was registered, SHO Abbas and Investigation Officer ASI Nasir arrived at the Shehzad Town police and surrendered. The two are expected to be presented before a court on Thursday (today).

Meanwhile, officials said that they had arrested three suspects for their alleged involvement in the rape and murder of the young girl. Officials added that the suspects hailed from Afghanistan. According to police sources, the daughter of one of the men was friends with the victim.

On Wednesday, Inspector General (IG) Police, Amir Zulfiqar along with investigation SSP and other senior police officials visited the victim’s family on Wednesday to express their condolences. They assured the family that the culprits will be caught soon.

On Wednesday, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq visited the victim’s family on Wednesday and condoled with her family over the tragic incident. Speaking to the media, he said that such kinds of incidents take place due to the government’s failure while he condemned some miscreants who had attempted to spread sectarianism after the horrific incident.

“The government should not test the public’s patience,” he stated.

Later, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Vice President and Parliamentary Leader in Senate Senator Sherry Rehman, along with local PPP office bearers, visited the family of 10-year old Farishta Mohmand.

“The local law enforcement’s handling of her brutal rape and murder shocked the nation and caused a public outcry,” Rehman said in a statement.

“The government must take responsibility for this horrific incident. They failed to protect our children as the police are busy protecting criminals,” she said, asking, “How is this insaf (justice) in Naya Pakistan? We demand justice for Farishta”.

What does it matter where she came from? The strange line of questions thrown at this poor girl’s grieving father is inexcusable, she said regarding the questions raised about the nationality of Farishta’s parents and promised to raise the matter in the parliament. During the day, the Islamabad High Court Bar and the District Bar Association have condemned the rape and murder of the minor and demanded that swift punishments must be granted in order to curtail such types of incidents.

Protest in Mohmand

Reacting to reports of Farishta Mohmand’s brutal rape and murder in the federal capital, residents of her native Mohmand staged a protest on Wednesday.

In the Mohmand district headquarters of Ghalanai, sub-divisional headquarters of Yakka Ghund, Michni saw protests by various political parties including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Awami National Party (ANP) respectively.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/sho-among-five-arrested-over-farishtas-rape-murder/feed/0SOC Films releases animated series on child abuse awarenesshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/soc-films-releases-animated-series-on-child-abuse-awareness/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/soc-films-releases-animated-series-on-child-abuse-awareness/#respondWed, 22 May 2019 05:26:31 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87929Spearheaded by two-time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, SOC Films recently launched their latest animated series, Shattering the Silence. The 4-part series is a public awareness campaign in Urdu that aims to raise awareness about social issues which children in the country face today.

The first animated short from Shattering the Silence series is titled Cheena Hua Bachpan, which explores trafficking through the widely occurring but largely overlooked issue of children working as domestic labourers.

“Using the medium of film, we wanted to get audiences to critically engage with real-life stories of child abuse and to understand the laws which safeguard them as well the resources they can access, if they or anyone children they know of are forced into situations of marriage, labour, trafficking or physical abuse,” read the post on Sharmeen Obaid’s official Facebook page. Cheena Hua Bachpan is about a young girl, who is trafficked into working at an influential family’s home. This girl is narrating her own story and how she’s deprived of basic human rights such as education. The first part emphasizes on how and why this situation comes to be – legally defined as trafficking, as well recounting the emotional, mental and physical effects of working long hours as a domestic labourer. It also shows the resources and laws, which ultimately protect and safeguard her well-being. Conceptualized, produced and directed by SOC Films, each short film is between 2 to 3 minutes long.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/soc-films-releases-animated-series-on-child-abuse-awareness/feed/0Family protests after body of missing girl found, three suspects arrestedhttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/family-protests-after-body-of-missing-girl-found-three-suspects-arrested/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/family-protests-after-body-of-missing-girl-found-three-suspects-arrested/#respondWed, 22 May 2019 05:17:35 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87926Islamabad: The family of a child whose body was found in a village on the outskirts of the capital blocked Taramri Chowk on Tuesday to protest against alleged inaction by the police.

The body of a girl, believed to be 10-year-old Farishta who went missing on May 15, was recovered Monday evening.

Three people have been arrested so far, according to a statement issued by Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) (Operations) Waqaruddin Syed. In addition, a committee headed by two superintendents of police has been formed to investigate the case.

In a late night development, after negotiations between the family, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Capital Development Authority (CDA) Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan and DIG Syed, it was agreed that a case would be registered against the police officials responsible. However, the FIR was not registered until the filing of this report.

l Victim disappeared while playing outside her house on May 15 l Family alleges police inaction, demands dismissal of all Shahzad Town officials l SHO suspended

A senior police officer said the FIR could be registered at any time against the station house officer (SHO) and the investigating officer on criminal negligence charges.

According to police sources and the victim’s family, she disappeared while playing outside her house on May 15 and a missing person’s report was registered the next day.

A kidnapping case was registered four days later on May 19, after the intervention of an MNA, who took up the case with Inspector General of Police Mohammad Aamir Zulfikar Khan.

The victim was found murdered the next day, when villagers spotted a body in a wooded area in Tamma village and informed the police. The body was identified as that of Farishta by her father Gul Nabi, who recognised her by her clothes.

An autopsy report is awaited, police said, but the body appears to be four days old. Samples have also been taken for a DNA test to confirm the victim’s identity. Police said that it is believed that the victim was subjected to gang-rape and torture, and samples have been taken to ascertain these claims.

The family had placed the body of the deceased on the road, and continued to protest until this report was filed.

They have demanded the immediate suspension of all the police officials posted at the Shahzad Town police station and the sub-divisional police officer, police and capital administration officials said.

The brother of the victim, a vegetable vendor, said that she went missing on May 15. The family lodged a complaint with the Shahzad Town police at around 10pm, which was not entertained by the officials there. He said the police registered their complaint at midnight.

The family then exhausted all efforts for the next few days until they met with the Shahzad Town station house officer (SHO), who gave them a casual response, he said.

An FIR was registered on May 19 against unidentified individuals under Pakistan Penal Code section 365-B.

The FIR stated that the victim disappeared from outside her house on May 15. Her father suspected she had been kidnapped, and the matter was reported to the police immediately, it added.

The Shahzad Town SHO has been suspended.

According to police, the suspension was ordered by police high-ups in order to hush-up the matter.

A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against the police officials who delayed initiating legal action and did not act promptly in response to the complainant.

The district magistrate has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident and issued a notification in this regard, which stated that 10-year-old Farishta was kidnapped by unknown individuals from her residence in Alipur village on May 15.

The notification said her father submitted an application to register an FIR with the Shahzad Town police on May 16, but registration was intentionally delayed by the concerned police until May 19. The body of the victim was recovered from Tamma village, it added.

The inquiry will look into allegations that the police registered the case after a four-day delay, and initiate legal proceedings to determine the circumstances of the child’s death.

Minister for InteriorIjaz Ahmed Shah has also sought a report on the incident from the IGP, a statement said.

The minister has ordered immediate legal action against those involved in the crime.

When contacted, DIG Waqaruddin Syed said the child disappeared May 15 and a report on the matter was registered May 16.

The call with him was disconnected shortly after, and he could not be reached for further comment.

A senior police officer said that the father of the victim had lodged a complaint about her disappearance, which was registered, and the police began investigating her disappearance.

The officer claimed the victim’s father then changed his statement and lodged a kidnapping complaint on May 19, and a case was registered immediately.

He said there was no delay in the registration of the case.

When asked about delays in the registration of the case and whether the police only acted after an MNA took up the matter, police spokesperson Inspector Khalid Awan said: “Nothing such happened.”

He did not make any further comments.

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser reached the protest before Iftar and invited the victim’s family for negotiations at the office of the Tarlaiassistant commissioner, police and administration officials said. The family refused to meet with him, and he left.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Ali Nawaz Awan also came to the protest to negotiate with the family, officials said. Until this report was filed, efforts were still in progress to convince the family to negotiate with him.

The circumstances compelled the district magistrate to initiate a judicial inquiry. Additional Deputy Commissioner (HQ) Bilawal Abro was appointed to conduct the inquiry and furnish a comprehensive report within a week, officials said.

Senator Rehman Malik, who chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, has also taken notice of the case.

Polyclinic conducts night-time autopsy

An autopsy was carried out at Polyclinic late at night after the body was recovered, despite outdated standard operating procedures (SOP) that say post-mortem examinations cannot be carried out after sunset.

Polyclinic Executive Director Dr Shahid Hanif said: “The body reached the hospital late Monday night, and I was informed about it after midnight. We have an SOP that autopsies are conducted in daylight, so it was decided that the body would be kept in the mortuary and an autopsy would be conducted in the morning. It also required the constitution of a medical board, approval from the magistrate and the availability of a female doctor.”

However, Dr Hanif said, relatives of the deceased and others insisted that the body be handed over without any delays. He said some politicians, including MNA Mohsin Dawar, also reached the hospital and sought an autopsy.

“As we did not want to create a law and order issue, so we sought verbal permission from the magistrate and the dead body was handed over after an autopsy at 3am,” he said.

A hospital doctor who asked not to be named said a number of samples were collected during the autopsy. He said the body was almost a week old and a lot of evidence was lost because of the condition of the body.

He said signs of torture were evident on the body, and a detailed report will be released later.

The doctor added that daylight used to be considered the base source of light for postmortems, but now high-quality light is available so the time of day does not make a difference.

“Postmortems have been started at night across the world, and even in Pakistan night-time post-mortems are carried out in emergencies or politically sensitive cases. I believe postmortems should be done at the earlier, because a delay in the autopsy increases chances that evidence will be lost. However, it is a fact that there are a lot of administrative problems with night-time postmortems that need to be considered,” he said.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/family-protests-after-body-of-missing-girl-found-three-suspects-arrested/feed/0Gang-rape suspects, victim taken to Lahore for DNA testshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/gang-rape-suspects-victim-taken-to-lahore-for-dna-tests/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/gang-rape-suspects-victim-taken-to-lahore-for-dna-tests/#respondTue, 21 May 2019 08:56:34 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87910Rawalpindi: The four men who had allegedly gang-raped the 20-year-old girl in Rawalpindi were separately moved to Lahore on Monday by two police teams under strict security to conduct their DNA tests.

The Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) will cross-match samples obtained from the victim and the suspects to definitively ascertain the crime. A senior police official told The Express Tribune that the suspects will return to Rawalpindi after their DNA samples have been taken. He added that further investigations will continue in Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, the Rawat police said that they have recovered the car which had been used in the crime. It was disclosed that the suspects had rented the car from one of the myriads of car rental establishments in the city.

The four suspects, including three Rawalpindi policemen, are currently in police custody on a five-day physical remand.

They are due back in court on May 24 City Police Officer (CPO) Faisal Rana said that they were treating the incident as a test case, adding that the suspects, if proven guilty, will not be spared.

]]>https://www.pakistangendernews.org/gang-rape-suspects-victim-taken-to-lahore-for-dna-tests/feed/0Gulistan-e-Jauhar rape suspect’s remand extended for two dayshttps://www.pakistangendernews.org/gulistan-e-jauhar-rape-suspects-remand-extended-for-two-days/
https://www.pakistangendernews.org/gulistan-e-jauhar-rape-suspects-remand-extended-for-two-days/#respondSat, 18 May 2019 07:57:34 +0000https://www.pakistangendernews.org/?p=87898A judicial magistrate on Friday extended the remand of a suspect for two days who along with his absconding accomplices allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

The District East judicial magistrate handed over the custody of Raza Bugti to police on physical remand till May 19 as the investigation officer sought more time to complete the interrogation.

An FIR (No 163/19) was lodged under sections 352, 452 and 506-B of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 on behalf of a woman, Samreen, who is the mother of the victim, against three suspects, namely Bugti, Shaban and Jawwad, at the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station on March 19. The woman had accused the men of raping her daughter.

The complainant in her initial statement to the police said that her daughter was subjected to gang rape by the three persons, and Bugti, who was the president of the union of the apartments where they lived, was a key suspect in the case.

The mother alleged that the suspects subjected her daughter to rape and warned her that they would throw acid on her if she screamed or told anyone about the incident. But the case took an ugly turn when an audio call went viral on social media, in which a man calling himself as ASI Rehman of the Gulistan-e-Jauhar police station is heard demanding a bribe from the victim’s mother in exchange for the preparation of a medical report and investigations in her favour.

However, at the end of the phone call, the woman refused to give him money and told the caller that his call had been recorded. The woman said she would not pay a single penny to him as her complaint was genuine.

As the audio went viral on social media, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of it and sought a detailed report from the East Zone DIG. Meanwhile, Additional IG Karachi Dr Amir Shaikh also took notice of the matter and formed an inquiry committee to investigate the case.

District East SSP Ghulam Azfar Mahesar would head the committee, which would record the statements of the victim girl and her mother. He said the committee would carry out the probe with the help of modern techniques.

Bugti, who surrendered before the police on May 13, said that he was falsely implicated in case by Samreen over a financial dispute. He negated the claim of rape. Meanwhile, a woman among the accused, Beena, whose name surfaced during the investigation, has obtained bail before arrest.